Modular Vehicle System: Vehicle Builder & Physics Toolkit

Modular Vehicle System — Grid-Based Vehicle Builder & Physics

Modular Vehicle System is a complete, data-driven kit for building drivable and flyable vehicles in Unity. You snap parts onto a 3D cell grid — in the editor window or with the in-scene runtime builder — and the system compiles that layout into a single rigidbody driven by one coupled physics controller. The exact same parts and assembly logic work both at edit time and at runtime through a clean scripting API (VehicleRuntimeApi), so player-built vehicles behave identically to ones you author yourself.

What's inside

• Grid part builder — editor window + optional runtime builder component.
• Data-driven parts — every part is a PartDefinition ScriptableObject (footprint, mount faces, mass, health, colliders, modules).
• Physics compiler — auto-generates mass, center of mass, inertia tensor and colliders from the layout.
• Ground physics — raycast suspension, Pacejka-style tire model, coupled engine → clutch → automatic gearbox → wheel powertrain, ABS, anti-roll bars and surface types.
• Flight physics — wings & control surfaces, modular tail, toggleable gyro autopilot, rotors, hover pads, jet thrusters, propellers and a flight-assist stability system.
• Resources & electronics — energy/heat layer plus a power/fuel/ammo network graph.
• Combat — multiple fire modes, self-simulating projectiles, aimable turrets, shields/repair, structural damage (cabin loss, debris despawn) and part reconstruction.
• Player-facing layer — keyboard input stack with control profiles, combat orbit camera, IMGUI HUD, physics diagnostics panel and multi-vehicle selection manager.

Is it customizable?

Yes — customization is the core design. Because every part is a ScriptableObject and every behavior is a self-contained runtime module, you extend the kit without touching its source: author new PartDefinition assets, drop in your own prefabs, tune per-part mass/health/handling multipliers, and add entirely new behaviors through the mechanic plug-in contract. A single runtime façade (VehicleRuntimeApi) lets you add/remove parts, build, inject input and apply damage from your own code. Sample part libraries (Core, Frames, Armor, Wheels, Flight, Power, Weapons, Utility), prefabs, control profiles and physics presets are all included as editable starting points.

What genres is it suited for?

The kit is genre-agnostic by design and fits any project where vehicles are assembled from parts:

• Vehicle-building / crafting sandboxes (build-your-own-car/plane/tank)
• Combat & vehicular shooters (turrets, weapons, destructible armor)
• Racing / driving games needing real suspension and a coupled powertrain
• Flight & hover games (planes, helicopters, hovercraft, hybrids)
• Survival, physics-sandbox and tycoon/simulation titles with player-made machines

Ground and flight parts share the same assembly, so hybrid vehicles (e.g. a flying tank or amphibious rig) work out of the box.